{"id":573,"date":"2019-04-15T18:55:38","date_gmt":"2019-04-15T18:55:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-organizationalbehavior\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=573"},"modified":"2024-04-24T22:44:27","modified_gmt":"2024-04-24T22:44:27","slug":"managerialism-and-decision-making","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-organizationalbehavior\/chapter\/managerialism-and-decision-making\/","title":{"raw":"Managerialism and Decision Making","rendered":"Managerialism and Decision Making"},"content":{"raw":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\r\n<h3>Learning OUtcomes<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Discuss the consequences of managerialism in decision making<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\nIn order to understand managerialism and decision making, one must first have a grasp of what managerialism is\u2014and that\u2019s not necessarily the easiest definition to understand.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignright wp-image-632\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4052\/2019\/04\/16181843\/hunters-race-408744-unsplash.jpg\" alt=\"a man buttoning his suit coat\" width=\"400\" height=\"267\" \/>The definition of managerialism is the belief in or reliance on the use of professional managers in administering or planning an activity. It\u2019s ideological, an approach that sees businesses and organizations as the core building blocks of society, rather than citizens and their needs and wishes. And, similar to other ideologies, like communism and socialism, there are aspects of managerialism that look great on paper, are well thought out, and just don\u2019t succeed in the real world.\r\n\r\nAs you can imagine, researchers over the years have had their fair share of things to say about managerialism. Henri Fayol and Frederick Winslow Taylor\u2019s early concepts of management were seen differently as managerialism came about, expressed in the simple formula:\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Management + Ideology + Expansion = Managerialism<\/p>\r\nThe \u201cexpansion\u201d part of that equation suggests that managerialism is an appropriate way to run any kind of organization. For example, MBAs are a more appropriate choice to run a hospital than doctors and nurses. Or maybe those experienced, professional managers, so skilled at business decisions, are the best choice to run a university or even a public school system.\r\n\r\nIn his book <em>Managerialism: The Emergence of a New Ideology<\/em>, Willard Enteman stated that capitalism had already ended, that industrial nations were not democratic, and that \u201cmanagerialism\u201d more accurately describes the world as it is today.[footnote]Enteman, Willard F.\u00a0<i>Managerialism: The Emergence of a New Ideology<\/i>. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press, 1993.[\/footnote] Robert Locke and J.C. Spender, management experts, saw managerialism as an expression of management entrenching itself ruthlessly and systemically in an organization.[footnote]Locke, Robert R., and J.-C Spender.\u00a0<i>Confronting Managerialism: How the Business Elite and Their Schools Threw Our Lives out of Balance<\/i>. London: Zed Books, 2011.[\/footnote] Australian scholar Thomas Klikauer took that a step further when he said:[footnote]Klikauer, Thomas.\u00a0<i>Managerialism a Critique of an Ideology<\/i>. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.[\/footnote]\r\n<blockquote>Managerialism combines management knowledge and ideology to establish itself systemically in organisations and society while depriving owners, employees (organisational-economical) and civil society (social-political) of all decision-making powers. Managerialism justifies the application of managerial techniques to all areas of society on the grounds of superior ideology, expert training, and the exclusive possession of managerial knowledge necessary to efficiently run corporations and societies.<\/blockquote>\r\nNow, if you feel like you know less about managerialism than when you started, don\u2019t feel alone. It\u2019s not a well-defined concept and, as Klikauer recognized, it\u2019s not deeply studied. So we\u2019re going to stop here and take away these two things:\r\n<ol>\r\n \t<li>Most people feel that managerialism is pejorative.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Managerialism deprives individuals with expertise of all decision making powers.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nIf we understand that basic opinion about managerialism, we\u2019ll be able to talk about how it can impact decision making.\r\n\r\nSo let\u2019s take that hospital situation as an example. Now, studies have shown that hospitals that are lead by managers who are not medically trained do as well, from a profit standpoint, as hospitals that are doctor led. That said, those that are making decisions\u2014and those that are putting them into action\u2014are often at odds.\r\n\r\nIn 2017, the German medical journal <em>Deutches Artzeblatt<\/em> published a study on the commercialization of patient-related decision making. Researchers Weihkamp and Neagler set out to determine if doctors and management at hospitals shared the sentiment that admittance, treatment, and discharge of patients was being affected by economic factors, like ensuring that the hospital made a profit.[footnote]Wehkamp, Karl-Heinz, and Heinz Naegler. \"The Commercialization of Patient-Related Decision Making in Hospitals.\"\u00a0<i>Deutsches Aerzteblatt Online<\/i>, November 24, 2017. doi:10.3238\/arztebl.2017.0797.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nThey carried out research in the form of interviews and focus groups between 2013 and 2016, and then published these results:[footnote]Ibid.[\/footnote]\r\n<blockquote>Some of the doctors\u2019 and CEOs\u2019 perceptions of the patient-care situation differed markedly from each other. The CEOs mentioned the need for a profit orientation and stressed that they obeyed the legal requirement not to have any direct influence on medical decision-making, while acknowledging that physicians\u2019 actions might be influenced indirectly. The doctors, on the other hand, reported feeling increasing pressure to consider the economic interests of the hospital when making decisions about patient care, leading not only to overtreatment, undertreatment, and incorrect treatment, but also to ethical conflicts, stressful situations, and personal frustration.<\/blockquote>\r\nIs managerialism having an effect here, because it\u2019s taking decision making out of the hands of those who carry out the mission at a hospital and putting it into the hands of a manager who is working to make sure the hospital makes a profit? The report went on to say:[footnote]Ibid.[\/footnote]\r\n<blockquote>The doctors\u2019 responses indicate that the current economic framework conditions and the managers of hospitals are currently influencing medical care to the detriment of the patients, physicians, and nurses. It is important to acknowledge that economic pressure on hospitals can undermine the independence of medical decision making. The dilemmas facing doctors and hospital CEOs should be openly discussed.<\/blockquote>\r\nCan this happen as suggested? Managerialism, by the definition provided to us by Locke, Spender, and Klikauer, would suggest to us that ownership of decision making is not shared. Decision making is entirely owned by managers. Should that situation not change in these hospitals where these studies took place, then patients will continue to suffer the consequences. Such is the impact of managerialism on decision making.\r\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\r\n<h3>Practice Question<\/h3>\r\nhttps:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/1b324379-2189-4a3a-942f-875a8ff89786\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nManagerialism is being redefined and reimagined, with neo-liberal approaches and \u201cnew managerialism\u201d approaches that suggest, to some degree, a better decision making process (that even includes the participation of consumers). Certainly, the pejorative version of managerialism defined for us by those scholars cannot continue to provide services and products at the level consumers expect, so this concept is likely to change and grow as we continue to explore the most successful ways decisions are made.","rendered":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\n<h3>Learning OUtcomes<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Discuss the consequences of managerialism in decision making<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>In order to understand managerialism and decision making, one must first have a grasp of what managerialism is\u2014and that\u2019s not necessarily the easiest definition to understand.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-632\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4052\/2019\/04\/16181843\/hunters-race-408744-unsplash.jpg\" alt=\"a man buttoning his suit coat\" width=\"400\" height=\"267\" \/>The definition of managerialism is the belief in or reliance on the use of professional managers in administering or planning an activity. It\u2019s ideological, an approach that sees businesses and organizations as the core building blocks of society, rather than citizens and their needs and wishes. And, similar to other ideologies, like communism and socialism, there are aspects of managerialism that look great on paper, are well thought out, and just don\u2019t succeed in the real world.<\/p>\n<p>As you can imagine, researchers over the years have had their fair share of things to say about managerialism. Henri Fayol and Frederick Winslow Taylor\u2019s early concepts of management were seen differently as managerialism came about, expressed in the simple formula:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Management + Ideology + Expansion = Managerialism<\/p>\n<p>The \u201cexpansion\u201d part of that equation suggests that managerialism is an appropriate way to run any kind of organization. For example, MBAs are a more appropriate choice to run a hospital than doctors and nurses. Or maybe those experienced, professional managers, so skilled at business decisions, are the best choice to run a university or even a public school system.<\/p>\n<p>In his book <em>Managerialism: The Emergence of a New Ideology<\/em>, Willard Enteman stated that capitalism had already ended, that industrial nations were not democratic, and that \u201cmanagerialism\u201d more accurately describes the world as it is today.<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"Enteman, Willard F.\u00a0Managerialism: The Emergence of a New Ideology. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press, 1993.\" id=\"return-footnote-573-1\" href=\"#footnote-573-1\" aria-label=\"Footnote 1\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[1]<\/sup><\/a> Robert Locke and J.C. Spender, management experts, saw managerialism as an expression of management entrenching itself ruthlessly and systemically in an organization.<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"Locke, Robert R., and J.-C Spender.\u00a0Confronting Managerialism: How the Business Elite and Their Schools Threw Our Lives out of Balance. London: Zed Books, 2011.\" id=\"return-footnote-573-2\" href=\"#footnote-573-2\" aria-label=\"Footnote 2\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[2]<\/sup><\/a> Australian scholar Thomas Klikauer took that a step further when he said:<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"Klikauer, Thomas.\u00a0Managerialism a Critique of an Ideology. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.\" id=\"return-footnote-573-3\" href=\"#footnote-573-3\" aria-label=\"Footnote 3\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[3]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Managerialism combines management knowledge and ideology to establish itself systemically in organisations and society while depriving owners, employees (organisational-economical) and civil society (social-political) of all decision-making powers. Managerialism justifies the application of managerial techniques to all areas of society on the grounds of superior ideology, expert training, and the exclusive possession of managerial knowledge necessary to efficiently run corporations and societies.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Now, if you feel like you know less about managerialism than when you started, don\u2019t feel alone. It\u2019s not a well-defined concept and, as Klikauer recognized, it\u2019s not deeply studied. So we\u2019re going to stop here and take away these two things:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Most people feel that managerialism is pejorative.<\/li>\n<li>Managerialism deprives individuals with expertise of all decision making powers.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>If we understand that basic opinion about managerialism, we\u2019ll be able to talk about how it can impact decision making.<\/p>\n<p>So let\u2019s take that hospital situation as an example. Now, studies have shown that hospitals that are lead by managers who are not medically trained do as well, from a profit standpoint, as hospitals that are doctor led. That said, those that are making decisions\u2014and those that are putting them into action\u2014are often at odds.<\/p>\n<p>In 2017, the German medical journal <em>Deutches Artzeblatt<\/em> published a study on the commercialization of patient-related decision making. Researchers Weihkamp and Neagler set out to determine if doctors and management at hospitals shared the sentiment that admittance, treatment, and discharge of patients was being affected by economic factors, like ensuring that the hospital made a profit.<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"Wehkamp, Karl-Heinz, and Heinz Naegler. &quot;The Commercialization of Patient-Related Decision Making in Hospitals.&quot;\u00a0Deutsches Aerzteblatt Online, November 24, 2017. doi:10.3238\/arztebl.2017.0797.\" id=\"return-footnote-573-4\" href=\"#footnote-573-4\" aria-label=\"Footnote 4\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[4]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<p>They carried out research in the form of interviews and focus groups between 2013 and 2016, and then published these results:<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"Ibid.\" id=\"return-footnote-573-5\" href=\"#footnote-573-5\" aria-label=\"Footnote 5\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[5]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Some of the doctors\u2019 and CEOs\u2019 perceptions of the patient-care situation differed markedly from each other. The CEOs mentioned the need for a profit orientation and stressed that they obeyed the legal requirement not to have any direct influence on medical decision-making, while acknowledging that physicians\u2019 actions might be influenced indirectly. The doctors, on the other hand, reported feeling increasing pressure to consider the economic interests of the hospital when making decisions about patient care, leading not only to overtreatment, undertreatment, and incorrect treatment, but also to ethical conflicts, stressful situations, and personal frustration.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Is managerialism having an effect here, because it\u2019s taking decision making out of the hands of those who carry out the mission at a hospital and putting it into the hands of a manager who is working to make sure the hospital makes a profit? The report went on to say:<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"Ibid.\" id=\"return-footnote-573-6\" href=\"#footnote-573-6\" aria-label=\"Footnote 6\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[6]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>The doctors\u2019 responses indicate that the current economic framework conditions and the managers of hospitals are currently influencing medical care to the detriment of the patients, physicians, and nurses. It is important to acknowledge that economic pressure on hospitals can undermine the independence of medical decision making. The dilemmas facing doctors and hospital CEOs should be openly discussed.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Can this happen as suggested? Managerialism, by the definition provided to us by Locke, Spender, and Klikauer, would suggest to us that ownership of decision making is not shared. Decision making is entirely owned by managers. Should that situation not change in these hospitals where these studies took place, then patients will continue to suffer the consequences. Such is the impact of managerialism on decision making.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\n<h3>Practice Question<\/h3>\n<p>\t<iframe id=\"assessment_practice_1b324379-2189-4a3a-942f-875a8ff89786\" class=\"resizable\" src=\"https:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/1b324379-2189-4a3a-942f-875a8ff89786?iframe_resize_id=assessment_practice_id_1b324379-2189-4a3a-942f-875a8ff89786\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none;width:100%;height:100%;min-height:300px;\"><br \/>\n\t<\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Managerialism is being redefined and reimagined, with neo-liberal approaches and \u201cnew managerialism\u201d approaches that suggest, to some degree, a better decision making process (that even includes the participation of consumers). Certainly, the pejorative version of managerialism defined for us by those scholars cannot continue to provide services and products at the level consumers expect, so this concept is likely to change and grow as we continue to explore the most successful ways decisions are made.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-573\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Original<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Managerialism and Decision Making. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Freedom Learning Group. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Lumen Learning. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Specific attribution<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Owner. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Hunters Race. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Unsplash. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/photos\/MYbhN8KaaEc\">https:\/\/unsplash.com\/photos\/MYbhN8KaaEc<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/about\/cc0\">CC0: No Rights Reserved<\/a><\/em>. <strong>License Terms<\/strong>: Unsplash License<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section><hr class=\"before-footnotes clear\" \/><div class=\"footnotes\"><ol><li id=\"footnote-573-1\">Enteman, Willard F.\u00a0<i>Managerialism: The Emergence of a New Ideology<\/i>. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press, 1993. <a href=\"#return-footnote-573-1\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 1\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-573-2\">Locke, Robert R., and J.-C Spender.\u00a0<i>Confronting Managerialism: How the Business Elite and Their Schools Threw Our Lives out of Balance<\/i>. London: Zed Books, 2011. <a href=\"#return-footnote-573-2\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 2\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-573-3\">Klikauer, Thomas.\u00a0<i>Managerialism a Critique of an Ideology<\/i>. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013. <a href=\"#return-footnote-573-3\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 3\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-573-4\">Wehkamp, Karl-Heinz, and Heinz Naegler. \"The Commercialization of Patient-Related Decision Making in Hospitals.\"\u00a0<i>Deutsches Aerzteblatt Online<\/i>, November 24, 2017. doi:10.3238\/arztebl.2017.0797. <a href=\"#return-footnote-573-4\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 4\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-573-5\">Ibid. <a href=\"#return-footnote-573-5\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 5\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-573-6\">Ibid. <a href=\"#return-footnote-573-6\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 6\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/div>","protected":false},"author":17,"menu_order":10,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Managerialism and Decision Making\",\"author\":\"Freedom Learning Group\",\"organization\":\"Lumen Learning\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"cc-attribution\",\"description\":\"Owner\",\"author\":\"Hunters Race\",\"organization\":\"Unsplash\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/photos\/MYbhN8KaaEc\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc0\",\"license_terms\":\"Unsplash License\"}]","CANDELA_OUTCOMES_GUID":"0298155e-b82c-4cfa-80c1-cc4ebf482e31, 50588b65-b680-45ba-a033-11c06ea786b7","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-573","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":33,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-organizationalbehavior\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-organizationalbehavior\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-organizationalbehavior\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-organizationalbehavior\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-organizationalbehavior\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/573\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2147,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-organizationalbehavior\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/573\/revisions\/2147"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-organizationalbehavior\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/33"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-organizationalbehavior\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/573\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-organizationalbehavior\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-organizationalbehavior\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=573"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-organizationalbehavior\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=573"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-organizationalbehavior\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}